'Hamas is a reality of Palestine': Turkey's Erdogan refuses to cut ties with terror group

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to cut ties with Hamas under US pressure in the wake of the terror group’s attacks on Israel. “First of all, Hamas is a reality of Palestine, it is a political party there and it entered the elections as a political party and won,” Erdogan said in remarks released by his office. The US Treasury’s top terrorism financing official conveyed Washington’s “profound” alarm about Ankara’s past relations with Hamas during a visit to Turkey this week. However, Under Secretary Brian Nelson has said that Washington has not found any trace of money passing through Turkey to Hamas since the launch of its all-out offensive against Israel. Nelson has nevertheless argued that Turkey has helped Hamas in the past to get funding and should now use local laws to clamp down on potential future transfers of funds. “I stand by my position. No matter what anybody says, I cannot accept Hamas as a terror group," the Turkish president said. “We form our foreign policy in Ankara and design it only according to Turkey’s interests and the expectations of our people,” Erdogan added. He said, “I am sure that our interlocutors appreciate Turkey’s consistent and balanced foreign policy steps in such humanitarian crises and conflicts.” Since October 7, Erdogan has emerged as a vocal critic among the Muslim nations against Israel’s onslaught on Gaza following Hamas’ surprise attack. Erdogan has branded Israel as a “terrorist state” and has called Hamas “a liberation group.” The leader has also called for the trial of Israeli politicians and military commanders in the International Criminal Court in the Hague. With inputs from AFP